This was the last of the Three Musketeers youth challenge events for 2012-2013 held at the Minnesota Sword Club. And it was Podium Boy's first ever fencing tournament. He is training and competing in just the épée, as that is the weapon used in Modern Pentathlon, which is really why he is training so hard in this sport in order to bring himself up to speed as much as possible prior to the Regional event at the Great Prairie Pentathlon in River Falls on May 18.His goal at this event was just to get used to competing. And observe, observe, observe. All about learning at this point.Fencing Primer:First, some background as many of you fellow Tri-Geeks might not have any clue. Theépée(pron.:/ˈɛpeɪ/) is the modern derivative of thedueling sword, thesmallsword(itself descended from therapier), used in sportfencing.ÉpéeisFrenchfor "sword".

As a thrusting weapon the épée is similar to a foil (compared to a sabre), but has a stiffer blade that is V-shaped in cross-section called a fuller, has a larger bell guard, and is heavier. The technique however, is somewhat different, as there are no rules regarding priority and right of way. In addition, the entire body is a valid target area.

While modern sport fencing has three weapons (foil, épée, and sabre), each a separate event, épée is the only one in which the entire body is the valid target area. Épée is the heaviest of the three modern fencing weapons. Fencing matches with the épée requires a large amount of concentration, accuracy and speed. Since the entire body is a target, a successful épée fencer must be able to anticipate their opponent's moves and strike their opponent at the correct time.

In most higher-level competitions a grounded metal piste is used to prevent floor hits from registering as touches. Unlike sabre and foil, in épée there are no right-of-way rules regarding attacks, other than the aforementioned rule regarding touches with only the point of the weapon. Touches are awarded solely on the basis of which fencer makes a touch first, according to the electronic scoring machines. Also, double-touches are allowed in épée, although the touches must occur within 40 milliseconds (1/25 of a second) of each other.

The roots of modern fencing originated from Spain. It was later adopted by Spain when it became one of the leading powers of Europe. In conquest, the Spanish forces carried fencing around the world, particularly southern Italy, one of the major areas of strife between both nations.

The mechanics of modern fencing originated in the 18th century in an Italian school of fencing of the Renaissance, and, under their influence, was improved by the French school of fencing. The Spanish school of fencing stagnated and was replaced by the Italian and French schools. Nowadays, these two schools are the most influential around the world.

Dueling went into sharp decline after World War I. After World War II, dueling went out of use in Europe except for very rare exceptions. Training for duels, once fashionable for males of aristocraticbackgrounds (although fencing masters such as Hope suggest that many people considered themselves trained from taking only one or two lessons), all but disappeared, along with the classes themselves. Fencing continued as a sport, with tournaments and championships. However, the need to actually prepare for a duel with "sharps" vanished, changing both training and technique.

Starting withépéein 1936, side-judges were replaced by an electrical scoring apparatus, with an audible tone and a red or green light indicating when a touch landed.Foilfirst embraced electronic scoring in 1956,sabrein 1988. The scoring box reduced the bias in judging, and permitted more accurate scoring of faster actions, lighter touches, and more touches to the back and flank than before.

Fencing in Modern Pentathlon:

What is different from a 'regular' fencing event and the component of a Modern Pentathlon is Fencing is they fence against each one of their competitors once, in a bout, which lasts a maximum of one minute and ends at the first touch. There is no first-to-five. It is basically a lightning bout. A bout where there is no touch is considered a defeat for both athletes and when this happens both athletes are penalized with one touch-hit each. When a Fencer commits a touch they add points to their total score, while at the same time points are taken away from their opponent's score. The entire body of the athlete is a valid target for a touch and the points are awarded for each touch. An athlete is given 1,000 points if they are able to win 70% of the touch at the games they take part in. For example if an athlete fights 30 athletes and has 21 touches that is a 70 percent touch rate and they will then have 1,000 points added to their score.Video:
There were one round of pools with 100% promoted to a direct elimination round of best two of three 5-touch bouts.